Windows Phone sales quadruple, 7.8 update coming early 2013

Microsoft talks Windows Phone 7.8 features for the first time since June.

At Microsoft's shareholders' meeting today, Steve Ballmer said Windows Phone 8 sales were off to a "great start." The combination of new software and more powerful hardware had resulted in four times as many sales as this time last year, the Microsoft CEO said.

The two high-end devices, the Nokia Lumia 920 and the HTC Windows Phone 8X, have both been selling out in a number of markets.

How many units that actually translates into is left conveniently unspoken. Shanghai Securities News reports that Nokia has already taken orders for 2.5 million Lumia 920s in the 20 days the phone has been on the market. This isn't far off the 2.76 million Windows Phone handsets that Gartner estimates were sold in the fourth quarter of 2011. The Lumia 920 is on track to sell more devices this quarter than all Windows Phone OEMs managed a year ago.

Microsoft also talked about Windows Phone 7.8 for the first time since June. Windows Phone 7 devices won't be upgradable to Windows Phone 8. Instead, they'll receive a small update branded Windows Phone 7.8. Previously, Microsoft confirmed this update would include the new Start screen with its variable Live Tile sizes. The company now says it will include a little more than that, though not much more: 7.8 will carry more colors, the option to use Bing images on the lock screen, and protection against having your phone wiped due to too many failed PIN attempts.

The update will be delivered to "as many devices as possible" in early 2013. This language implies that not all devices from all carriers are likely to receive the update. If true, this continues the haphazard update support plaguing the platform.

Windows Phone 7.8 won't be limited to existing devices, though. New models are due to debut in emerging markets that will run this new version of Microsoft's old smartphone operating system. Though these won't run apps designed for Windows Phone 8, both the old operating system and the new one will run apps built for Windows Phone 7.5.

When it's competing with Bada for smartphone market share, you know it's stuck in a deep hole. The WP8 cutoff did not help.

Meanwhile, I read over at WPCentral that RTM version of WP7.8 is already out. I hope manufacturers like Nokia (especially Nokia?) put out the update in January instead of March, if 2013 Q1 timeframe is to be believed.

I agree. That is a pretty low blow from the guy who claims the Windows Phone experience to be better than the rest. It is like saying any company with 0 (or near there) market share should forget about entering a given market. Why? Throw up hands in defeat and just let the other guys win? All that does is eventually create consolidation of the existing market, and eventually monopolies or duopolies, which aren't really any better. It is like saying Apple should have just closed up shop after Microsoft won the desktop in the 80s and 90s because they had no market share and just shouldn't bother.

Microsoft usually finds a way. I remember a console market that consisted of Nintendos and Playstations. Yet Microsoft sits atop the console thrown for now.

Does this mean the only option is Bing or that the API for apps to be able to customize the lockscreen is coming to 7.8?

Don't know, they didn't say.

Right now with 7.5 you can use any image on the device for your lock screen.. the Bing page has various random images which I bet will be available to rotate on your lock screen. (thats how I read this anyway)

I have a Lumia 900 and my boss bought a 920 last week. He's getting insane battery life out of his phone (IE: his is still at 80% when mine is at 40% midway through a workday, although I am a heavier user), and being able to manage the tilespace is huge. I'm glad I am getting 7.8 eventually, and I have been very impressed with the Nokia phones so far. Built solid, reliable, and an honest to god good OS.

I agree. That is a pretty low blow from the guy who claims the Windows Phone experience to be better than the rest. It is like saying any company with 0 (or near there) market share should forget about entering a given market. Why? Throw up hands in defeat and just let the other guys win? All that does is eventually create consolidation of the existing market, and eventually monopolies or duopolies, which aren't really any better. It is like saying Apple should have just closed up shop after Microsoft won the desktop in the 80s and 90s because they had no market share and just shouldn't bother.

Microsoft usually finds a way. I remember a console market that consisted of Nintendos and Playstations. Yet Microsoft sits atop the console thrown for now.

The great thing about consoles is that, until the Xbox came along, each generation starts from scratch. Nintendo could win one generation, but it made no difference for the next; you had to buy all new games anyway, so there was no meaningful lock-in.

That's not true with smartphones, because of the lock-in effect that comes from software. If you've invested in a bunch of iOS apps, switching to Android or Windows Phone becomes that much more unpalatable even if those operating systems are a better fit for your needs.

As such, I think smartphones are a harder market to crack than consoles were.

However, I think there is some change coming to the console market, thanks in particular to Xbox LIVE (and to a lesser extent PSN). With Xbox LIVE you can build a community of friends, and you will want to retain them even as you move to a newer generation device. There's an incentive for Xbox 360 buyers to get an Xbox 720 that never existed when looking at, for example, PlayStation to PlayStation 2, or Nintendo 64 to GameCube.

Does this mean the only option is Bing or that the API for apps to be able to customize the lockscreen is coming to 7.8?

Don't know, they didn't say.

Right now with 7.5 you can use any image on the device for your lock screen.. the Bing page has various random images which I bet will be available to rotate on your lock screen. (thats how I read this anyway)

In Windows Phone 8, there's an actual API so that programs can provide lock screen images. Facebook, for example, can show images from your photo sets. This is in addition to the built-in Bing image support. We don't know if 7.8 includes the API, or just the built-in Bing support.

I agree. That is a pretty low blow from the guy who claims the Windows Phone experience to be better than the rest. It is like saying any company with 0 (or near there) market share should forget about entering a given market. Why? Throw up hands in defeat and just let the other guys win? All that does is eventually create consolidation of the existing market, and eventually monopolies or duopolies, which aren't really any better. It is like saying Apple should have just closed up shop after Microsoft won the desktop in the 80s and 90s because they had no market share and just shouldn't bother.

Microsoft usually finds a way. I remember a console market that consisted of Nintendos and Playstations. Yet Microsoft sits atop the console thrown for now.

Huh? I thought Nintendo with near 100 million Wii and over 150 million DS units sold was king of the console throne. Plus the Wii was sold at a profit it's entire lifespan.

Microsoft is in a close second place with Sony both having sold about 70 million.

I purchased a Windows Phone 7, I was faithful to Microsoft and waited 2 years until they got the product fixed and they never did. They announced Windows Phone 8 which I would not receive an upgrade. I switched to Android and I'm never going to look back for the next 10 years because Microsoft burned every single Windows Phone buyer like me.

I waited 2 years, and only saw one single decent upgrade, which brought copy and paste and fake multi tasking, I waited and waited until features came and they never did. No VPN, no apps in the background (you cannot receive calls in the back with Skype or other apps), no way to sync with Outlook, Windows does not even see the phone when connected, you need to use Zune, Hotmail sync is not sync, it creates a double calendar and contact lists and the phone does sync back so its not even real sync. The phone was so lacking in features and the worst is that Microsoft is never going to fix that trash. Instead we have to buy a new Windows Phone 8. You would be a complete moron to fall again for this, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

I use an older Android now and absolutely everything works. Their own Windows 7 systems sees my phone as another extension of my computer, I can send data in and out just by connecting it via USB, Wifi, you name it. Everything works, SIP, VPN, apps, everything. Not to mention Microsoft limits purchased of apps only to credit card and its only available on a limited lists of countries worldwide as opposed to Google Play where anyone from anywhere in the world can buy apps, dont like it? Bypass it. Did I mentioned you cannot actually change your email on MSN without having to do a full reset of the phone? That phone is just a nightmare, its a Facebook phone and the phone is even more useless if you don´t like to send all your data to social networks. The phone is a toy, just like Windows 8 is. Its not designed at all for business and people that actually work with computers.

Microsoft had their chance with Windows Phone 7. I feel scammed by them as they knew from day one it was a temporary phone until the real thing was launched which is Windows Phone 8. I would not use a Microsoft phone ever again after paying 600$ for an unlocked phone which is worthless today.

Im sorry but allot of people feel the same after being burned with Windows Phone 7. The phone OS is so basic, that it feels like it was designed with a 5,000 budget. It looks nice, but once you need to do things with it, it feels like 15 years behind Android and Apple. I would say that Windows Phone 8 will be stable and decent in features in 5 years from today as this speed of development.

That's about 10M units for this quarter. Probably around 6-8% market share. Pretty impressive growth from a year or two ago. And it will probably go higher with the W8 rollout and increased word of mouth advertising. So far I haven't seen many who actually got to know WP and didn't prefer it over iOS or Android. It's that good, especially WP8. Once it reaches the 10% mark, WP will probably be an unstoppable force, eventually passing iphone's market share like some analysts are predicting.

I agree. That is a pretty low blow from the guy who claims the Windows Phone experience to be better than the rest. It is like saying any company with 0 (or near there) market share should forget about entering a given market. Why? Throw up hands in defeat and just let the other guys win? All that does is eventually create consolidation of the existing market, and eventually monopolies or duopolies, which aren't really any better. It is like saying Apple should have just closed up shop after Microsoft won the desktop in the 80s and 90s because they had no market share and just shouldn't bother.

Microsoft usually finds a way. I remember a console market that consisted of Nintendos and Playstations. Yet Microsoft sits atop the console thrown for now.

The great thing about consoles is that, until the Xbox came along, each generation starts from scratch. Nintendo could win one generation, but it made no difference for the next; you had to buy all new games anyway, so there was no meaningful lock-in.

That's not true with smartphones, because of the lock-in effect that comes from software. If you've invested in a bunch of iOS apps, switching to Android or Windows Phone becomes that much more unpalatable even if those operating systems are a better fit for your needs.

As such, I think smartphones are a harder market to crack than consoles were.

However, I think there is some change coming to the console market, thanks in particular to Xbox LIVE (and to a lesser extent PSN). With Xbox LIVE you can build a community of friends, and you will want to retain them even as you move to a newer generation device. There's an incentive for Xbox 360 buyers to get an Xbox 720 that never existed when looking at, for example, PlayStation to PlayStation 2, or Nintendo 64 to GameCube.

The Wii U has a feature to transfer all of your save files and Virtual Console/WiiWare downloads from the Wii, so the ability to easily transition to a new console generation already exists.

I agree. That is a pretty low blow from the guy who claims the Windows Phone experience to be better than the rest. It is like saying any company with 0 (or near there) market share should forget about entering a given market. Why? Throw up hands in defeat and just let the other guys win? All that does is eventually create consolidation of the existing market, and eventually monopolies or duopolies, which aren't really any better. It is like saying Apple should have just closed up shop after Microsoft won the desktop in the 80s and 90s because they had no market share and just shouldn't bother.

Microsoft usually finds a way. I remember a console market that consisted of Nintendos and Playstations. Yet Microsoft sits atop the console thrown for now.

Huh? I thought Nintendo with near 100 million Wii and over 150 million DS units sold was king of the console throne. Plus the Wii was sold at a profit it's entire lifespan.

Microsoft is in a close second place with Sony both having sold about 70 million.

However, Sony's position right now is very weak due to financial struggles, partly caused by the abysmal PSPGo and a weak Vita launch (compared to the 3DS). Granted, Sony has a presence in many other markets, which I feel may be coming to an end very soon unless Sony is going to completely fold as a company, which I highly doubt happening.

The great thing about consoles is that, until the Xbox came along, each generation starts from scratch. Nintendo could win one generation, but it made no difference for the next; you had to buy all new games anyway, so there was no meaningful lock-in.

That's not true with smartphones, because of the lock-in effect that comes from software. If you've invested in a bunch of iOS apps, switching to Android or Windows Phone becomes that much more unpalatable even if those operating systems are a better fit for your needs.

As such, I think smartphones are a harder market to crack than consoles were.

However, I think there is some change coming to the console market, thanks in particular to Xbox LIVE (and to a lesser extent PSN). With Xbox LIVE you can build a community of friends, and you will want to retain them even as you move to a newer generation device. There's an incentive for Xbox 360 buyers to get an Xbox 720 that never existed when looking at, for example, PlayStation to PlayStation 2, or Nintendo 64 to GameCube.

The Wii U has a feature to transfer all of your save files and Virtual Console/WiiWare downloads from the Wii, so the ability to easily transition to a new console generation already exists.

Oh for sure, the console market today has changed. I still don't think the lock-in is quite as great as it is in smartphones, but it's definitely increasing.

Im sorry but allot of people feel the same after being burned with Windows Phone 7.

I have a hard time believing this, since a lot of people didn't buy WP7 hardware in the first place.

That aside, your complaint that the phone you bought two years ago isn't being upgraded to the latest and greatest software sounds pretty whiny. The hardware doesn't support it. What would you have them do instead? WP7 was updated along the way and still has at least one more update coming. Considering the flaky upgrades in the Android world and iOS disabling key features on older hardware as it goes, the WP7 -> WP8 transition doesn't seem to be the raw deal that you're painting it as.

Quality hardware (especially the cameras), decent operating system, good eco-system for third party developers, high availability on multiple carriers and selling at a low price?

You had me until that last line. In the US it's available on 1 carrier. In Canada it's available on 1 carrier. Even in the UK there was apparently a brief exclusivity period. Not only that, but Nokia is keeping it's unlock codes close to the chest.

However, I think there is some change coming to the console market, thanks in particular to Xbox LIVE (and to a lesser extent PSN). With Xbox LIVE you can build a community of friends, and you will want to retain them even as you move to a newer generation device. There's an incentive for Xbox 360 buyers to get an Xbox 720 that never existed when looking at, for example, PlayStation to PlayStation 2, or Nintendo 64 to GameCube.

So an XBL friends list means more than being able to play your old games on the new console? Not the case for me. The 360 was able to play many of the original xbox titles and there will be a huge uproar if the 720 can't play 360 games. I'm confident MS will put in the effort to write a decent interpreter. It's just inconvenient to have to keep the old console up and running to play games that are less than a couple years old.

The two high-end devices, the Nokia Lumia 920 and the HTC Windows Phone 8X, have both been selling out in a number of markets.

<anecdotal evidence>When I bought my 8X, it was the last one in stock</anecdotal evidence> There seems to be a lot of excitement surrounding these phones. People are talking about them in ways I haven't seen before with WP. Time will tell if this translates into greater market share.

Beg pardon, the headline says WP sales quadruple, but I don't see any attribution for that. Did Ballmer say it, or are you merely taking the 2.5m from Nokia and multiplying that out over the rest of the quarter?

I think it is too early to draw conclusions. I use Android right now, but am looking at replacing the ICS device I have with a WP8 unit. Just waiting for the right hardware (or an unlocked phone) for my carrier.

The statistics after another two quarters will start giving us a good indication if this platform finally is getting traction.

Does this mean the only option is Bing or that the API for apps to be able to customize the lockscreen is coming to 7.8?

Don't know, they didn't say.

Right now with 7.5 you can use any image on the device for your lock screen.. the Bing page has various random images which I bet will be available to rotate on your lock screen. (thats how I read this anyway)

In WP8 they added an API so that any application can change the lock screen background. They are asking if they added this in WP 7.8, which nobody knows. Nobody knows much about 7.8, MS has been really unfortunate about distributing information to developers before it's out.

Sales of Windows for the PC supports the notion that Windows has the most meaningful applications for the vast majority of PC users. When everything has been said and done people buy computers to do something meaningful with them and Windows has been the answer for a long time on the PC side.

On the phone side it's the opposite. Unix derivatives run the show and sport the largest number of applications and devices.

Will this disparity will be maintained for the next 10 years? Who knows.

If I were a fund manager and had to make a bold bet I'd bet that in 2022 low-cost Android will have 60% of the market, WP will have 20% helped by the Windows ecosystem and Apple will have 10% catering to Apple's huge fan base. The last 10% would be others. I would also bet that profitability would be exactly in the reverse order so it's good news for the major league players.

It goes without saying that the day after I would invest according to this speculation a disruptive innovation would turn the market upside down like when Apple introduced the iPhone.

Beg pardon, the headline says WP sales quadruple, but I don't see any attribution for that. Did Ballmer say it, or are you merely taking the 2.5m from Nokia and multiplying that out over the rest of the quarter?

Im sorry but allot of people feel the same after being burned with Windows Phone 7. The phone OS is so basic, that it feels like it was designed with a 5,000 budget. It looks nice, but once you need to do things with it, it feels like 15 years behind Android and Apple. I would say that Windows Phone 8 will be stable and decent in features in 5 years from today as this speed of development.

I was an Android user and I felt burned by my near modern spec handset languishing without updates, and when it did get them they were months and months late. I felt burned when my iPhone 3G updated an iOS version and was rendered so slow that it was basically a brick.

Microsoft seems to be playing the PR game very well, and most tech writers out there just take it at face value. "40 million licenses sold of Windows 8", when in reality they are just sold to manufacturers, and not yet into the market, which could take a while.. "quadrupled WP8 sales from a year ago", when in reality it just means like 4 million units vs last year's 1 million, and versus today's 120 million Android devices per quarter.

I'm living proof that your statment is based upon a false assumption. I purchased my W8 license directly from Microsoft, online. I know others that have done the same. So you can't sit here and say that "in reality they are just sold to manufacturers, and not yet into the market." Such a silly thing as what you've written is so easily disproven.

Not the case for me. The 360 was able to play many of the original xbox titles and there will be a huge uproar if the 720 can't play 360 games.

Will there? Why not just play your old games on the 360 you already have?

Quote:

I'm confident MS will put in the effort to write a decent interpreter. It's just inconvenient to have to keep the old console up and running to play games that are less than a couple years old.

The problem with backwards compatibility is that it's hard to get exactly right, and it ties their hands when it comes to hardware, particularly when it comes to things like memory bandwidth and topology.